Archive for November, 2011

Today was probably the most hectic, most insane, and the craziest shopping day of the entire year! So why you may be asking would I subject myself (and using a wheelchair nonetheless) to the mayhem? For the outrageous sales of course!

Well, I mainly wanted to go CVS and Rite Aid because of the amount of highly discounted, free, and moneymaker items!I started following several coupon sites that each list the matching week’s transactions (also called “match-ups”) and even go so far to list each [sale] item and put together transactions lists. This then makes it super easy for the user to figure out which coupons are needed and in what order to purchase the items in order so as to be the most bang from one’s buck!One of my favorite of such sites is Deidre’s Cuckoo for Coupon Deals though she didn’t have transactions listed for black Friday.

The super nice and helpful cashier at CVS was very impressed with the detailed transaction lists that I gave her Deidre’s website as well as my own. Who knows, maybe she’ll even read this post! My sister and I spent over three hours at CVS and Rite Aid between finding items and checking out. And in both stores everyone we encountered shoppers and employees alike were so kind and helpful! One woman in CVS noticed we were looking for the same items she was and brought us the items as she found them for herself as well!

I am pretty new to the whole stockpile coupon-ing thing. I remember cutting out coupons for my mom when I was 4 or 5 without ever being asked or shown how. I just did. So I’ve always been interested in coupons and tried to use them when I could. But in the last few months I’ve really been trying to use coupons to get items we use very inexpensive or free. I have found though that for most of the food products my family buys, that there are no coupons for them.

So my main focus is for non-food items like hair products, soap, cosmetics, and other toiletries.I have a couple shelves in one bookcase that I am using for these items and I have to say that we are good on shampoo and conditioner for awhile! Rite Aid had VO5 for $0.33 each after store rewards! Both stores were very patient while I sorted the items into the many transactions needed to take advantage of store rewards.

Did you take part in Black Friday? And if so, where did you go and what deals did you find?~Jaclyn~

Today my family and I will head over to a very close family friend’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. But before that my sister I will watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade as we always do. I am very thankful for my close friends, family, family-friends, and all my wonderful readers not only on this national holiday, but every day. Clink to Continue Reading

In addition to my review on the novel Farsighted, I also have a special treat. I was fortunate enough to be granted my first author interview with Emlyn Chand. In addition to asking her a few of what I think of as fairly ‘standard’ questions, I also tried to come up with ones that are specific and unique to her and her book. I’d like to welcome and thank Ms. Emlyn Chand for stopping by Jaclyn’s Musings today. So without further ado…

Farsighted by Emlyn Chand is the first in a series of books about teenagers with various types of psychic gifts. One of these teens is Alex Kosmitoras who learns that he has psychic ‘visions’ which is ironic as Alex is blind. So for Alex, his ‘visions’ come in the very same way as he experiences the rest of the world, through his other senses.

When the story starts, we meet Alex as he is just about to begin another year of (high) school. At first he feels lonely, which he believes is largely because he lacks the ability to see. But Alex doesn’t let that stop him and has adapted, he is in mainstream classes without any sort of adult aide. He does require all his textbooks be special ordered in Braille which makes them much larger and heavier than his peers’ editions. Throughout the store Alex undergoes a lot of changes in respect to his newly found psychic gifts. Alex does get help and guidance from two sources, one of which, to Alex at least, is highly unlikely ally.

I gave Emlyn Chand’s Farsighted a 4 because I felt it took awhile for me to really get ‘into’ the story. I did enjoy the runes and ‘fortune’ given at the beginning of each chapter. As someone who lives with both a physical and invisible disability, I very much liked the synopsis of the book as not many [books] I find have a protagonist who has any sort of disability. I was also pleased that Alex has a couple of very good friends that don’t treat him differently just because he was born without vision.

I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series that we’re told will be narrated by someone other than Alex. Now I have a couple guesses, but am not going to share them as I do not want to give away too much of the story. And I thank the author Emlyn Chand and Novel Publicity for allowing me to join the Farsighted book tour.

Farsighted by Emlyn Chand is scheduled to be released in print on Nov. 24, 2011 and is currently available for Kindle on Amazon.com.

~Jaclyn~

*Disclaimer: I received this from the author and Novel Publicity as part of their book tour. Please see my disclaimer policy for more information.

Book Tour Information:

THE BOOK: Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can
still “see” things others can’t. When his unwanted visions of the future begin
to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on
destiny and demand it reconsider. Get your copy today by visiting Amazon.com’s Kindle store or the eBook retailer of your choice. The paperback
edition will be available on November 24 (for the author’s birthday).

THE CASH PRIZES: Guess what? You could win a $100 Amazon gift card as
part of this special blog tour. That’s right! Just leave a comment below saying something about the post
you just read, and you’ll be entered into the raffle. I could win $100 too! Please help by voting for my
blog in the traffic-breaker poll. To cast your vote, visit the official Farsighted blog tour page and scroll all the way to the
bottom. Thank you for your help with that.

THE AUTHOR: Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having
emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not
writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity.
Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don’t
forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky!

MORE FUN: There’s more fun below. Watch the live action Farsighted book trailer

Tomorrow I head back to the surgeon’s office for yet another one of my bi-weekly visits. While it is a drag having to schlep up to their office and having to often wait hours to see the P.A. (Physicians Assistant) I know it is well worth it.

And I am very lucky to have such a close family friend who is just wonderful company and we often will go out for dinner or something afterwards. That really does help to make the whole experience so much better!Click to Continue Reading